Davis Transport/Southwest Driver Training

Im an o/o leased on to them, and a formor company driver.
what did you want to know?
fright lanes are coast to coast, with a eastern regional fleet now, youll run I80 and 90 alot
trucks are t800 kw's with either a flattop or standup, some single fuel tank, c13 cats or cumins equivilant, 10 speeds trannys
trailers are spring ride 45's or air ride 48...all old and heavy
pay...wel that depends but i believe as a rookie right out of training ( by training i mean runnin around with a trainer for a few weeks..up to 6 i think) youll get .30/mile
health insureance, 401k available thru the compnay
by the end of oriantation you will be known by name by everyone in the office....meeting all the drivers wil take alot of time...just hafta run around and see who you run into
fuel and performance bonus's
the staff is easy to work with and expect you to take the truck home on time off
while in training you and you trainer can only go as far as one log book alows....no team driving here
a small word of advice....when you get here be ready to run...these guys will throw all the miles at you you can stand if run halfway hard...yes their preplanning sucks and you'll sit alot of weekends in a truck stop, but 10000 paid miles a month isnt rare in this outfit, and after 10k you get a mileage bonus

 

orientation is 3 days hangin out at the terminal in missoula mt,
they buy you a room at the hotel next to muralts truck stop and feed you lunch, monday is meatloaf, tuesday is prime rib sandwitch and wensday is chief surprize...you buy yer own dinner, hotel has a contential breakfast

no uniforms....but hey give you a cheezy (IMO) hat to wear...you can buy shirts and sweaters if you really want to

saftey rating is on the skids due to 2 rollovers this year, but i still havent run into any dot searchs and i get alot of green lights on the prepass so i think they ( dot) arent too worried about us

word of cuation....if the load is higher than you cab....slow the f down on corners...thats how our rollovers happened

 

Do all loads get tarped?
If not, what would you say is the percentage tarped?
How is it as on O/O?
What is better..Company, Lease or O/O?
Thanks for your input.
Ron

 

not all loads are tarp loads....but 99% are...nontarp loads are few and far between here
as an o/o its alright....i have the same complaints as everyone else who is leased to any company....loads dont pay enuff, lack of accurate preplanning ect...ect

company,l/p or o/o?

company is paid for all miles and doesnt hafta worry about sitting not making any money as the get paid for it, plus doesnt hafta worry about payments and maintence costs....alot of pluses there i think...only downside i have seen is they pay by HHG + 100 miles out of route

L/P...yes this outfit has one...seems to be an almost square deal...you buy one of there older tractors at thier price and make the payments to them..plus rent/ buy a trailer and all related gear....the few that are doin it here are doin well from all accounts i have heard....even from them

o/o...got to be the best way in my mind or i wouldnt have done it...lol
had to buy my own truck and trailer and related gear but i ( as well as the l/p's) have the option of turning down loads, taking time off as we like and can even find our own loads( company still wants a percentage of course)

on all three there is NO qualcomm...big plus in my mind
you do hafta call in every day ( an open option for o/o)and update them to your location, eta and hours avilable (company drivers only).
they will give you routing as neccasary ( no forced fuel stops but they perfer you to use T/A's as they have a cost plus with them)
you get plenty of time to make your runs, are expected to be constantly legal ( logs, truck and such)

l/p & o/o get 80% of line hual, 100% fsc, tarp and extra stop
plus they take out an additional 13% to go to your reserve fund (for plates, ifta, insureance and junk) until it hits a predetermined limit set by you....then they stop taking it out

thats all i got right now off the top of my head...
any specific questions just ask and ill answer to the best of my abilities ( yes they are limited)

 

Thank you for the info. It is very helpful.
Ron

 

Well it is Official.....I "sealed" the deal so to speak with Davis. I will be flying out to Missoula on July 8th and starting orientaion on the 9th.

 

Congrats, Let us know how it goes.

I just got the call today from Maverick. They seem good, I really can't find any negative except that there is bit of a wait to start since I am from the Houston, Texas area.

Good Luck
Ron